Heroes' Journey
by AgentOfAngst
Summary: Six-ish heroes band together against a crazy and dangerous world out to rip them apart. (Fantasy Big Hero 6 AU) (Multiple chapters)
1. Once upon a time

**I wanted to write the characters of Big Hero 6 into a fairytale setting. This isn't a retelling of the movie or anything from the show, it's just the origin of the group if it were in a fantasy world. I don't know how many chapters there will be.**

**The scene starts in a tower.**

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Chapter 1- Once Upon a Time

Once upon a time, there was a Princess locked in a high tower and guarded by a dragon. Princess Leiko was not cursed or kidnapped or kept from the world because of her great beauty or golden heart. She was kept from the world because her father was a corrupt King, and it was a long-held belief that corruption bred corruption. Rotten apples don't fall far from poison trees, and so the Princess was considered a rotten royal and was locked up to protect the world from her rather than the other way around.

It was mind-numbing in that tower. It made her angry, and maybe it did make her just a little more wicked. It wasn't like she wanted to be like her father, who had hit the servants and never remembered her name. Maybe she was bitter and just a little bit mean, but it wasn't because she was like her corrupt father. It was because no one had given her a chance to be anything else. She was literally trapped in their perceptions of her.

Every day she paced the tower, every day she plotted her escape. The tower was no problem, she could get out of the tower easily, but she needed a way to get past the dragon. As far as weapons go, the only thing she had was a rusty pair of scissors that she used to cut her hair. She had cut her hair because her father used to yank her around by it when it was long. And no one else was ever going to yank her around ever again. Not her drunkard father or the villagers who had trapped her in the tower, and certainly not the dragon bred to track her every move.

The dragon spent most of its time asleep because if Leiko tried to escape the dragon would know. They were linked. But the dragon didn't tend to notice or care about anyone else near the tower, so people often came and jeered and yelled at Leiko while the dragon slept on. It made her angry, but she refused to yell back. Because if she yelled back, she would be the monster. If she yelled they would totally be right about corruption breeding corruption. She would not be her father. She would let them bend her but she would never break.

But it was getting harder to not break day by day. Sometimes Leiko thought that no one would ever give her a chance to be more than her father. She thought that they would just leer at her up here forever. She hadn't given up, hadn't lost her courage, but she'd been here for years. Sometimes she even missed the castle, in comparison, where her father would fuss and fight with her. Every day there had been like hell, so why was she nostalgic? At least in the castle, she could leave. Not forever, but for a little while. No, there was no looking back, it would do no good because she couldn't go back and she didn't want to. She wouldn't trade her limited freedom there for the full freedom she anticipated having once she could get past that stupid dragon. She just needed to figure out her getaway plan.

And then something kind of just fell into her lap.

"Princess Leiko!" She groaned and slid out of sight from the window, not wanting the villagers to see her on the verge of a breakdown.

"Princess, I know you're not a monster! Corruption does not breed corruption!" That caught her attention, and she popped into view, scanning the base of the tower to see the man who had called out to her. She spotted him, though he wasn't looking up at her. The man at the base of the tower seemed to worriedly be eyeing the dragon, hoping it wouldn't wake up. She let out a hesitant sigh, not wanting to trust someone on the outside. But he had two gleaming swords on his back, and she… Well, she had a rusty pair of scissors.

"What's your name?" She called. He jumped, worried that her voice would wake up the fearsome dragon. Leiko had no such concerns or reservations. The dragon was only a threat to her, and only a threat to her if she was out of the tower. And she was very much inside the tower.

"Wasabi."

"That's not a name!"

"My parents named me after the trade I was raised to do, peddling wasabi."

"Wow. Bad parents." Leiko observed, sitting in the windowsill.

"No kidding. That's how I know corruption doesn't breed corruption, your highness."

"So you're not scared of me?"

"Frankly, I'm scared of everything."

"Sounds super fun. Are those blades on your back for harvesting wasabi, peddler?"

"Not even a little bit."

"Born to be a merchant, and yet you're here."

"How do you know I'm not here to sell you wasabi?" He kept stealing nervous glances at the dragon.

"I don't know why you're here at all."

"Because I was born to be a merchant, but in my heart, I'm a knight."

"And how does that pertain to me?"

"What is a knight without royalty to serve? Besides, I'm on a quest. I've been hired by Prince Frederick of the neighboring kingdom to free you from your tower and escort you to him."

"If Prince Frederick wanted me saved, he could have done it himself."

"While I agree, it seems given the circumstances I'm the best chance you have. I'm a little scared of heights though, so I don't think I could get you down from there-"

"Don't worry about the tower, just worry about the dragon."

"Right, the dragon… Are we sure that has to be my job?"

"Come on Wasabi, you were born to be a knight." She didn't want to sit back and watch, but there was nothing she could do with her rusty pair of scissors. This would be the last time she played the damsel in distress, though.

Wasabi took a deep breath and looked at the beast.

"Right. I guess I have to then."


	2. The Dragon Slayer

**I should have mentioned that Leiko is the original name of GoGo so Princess Leiko is GoGo, everyone else is going to have their original name. Sorry for not mentioning that I'm sure some of you already knew. Also, I'm making up all of these backstories and there is some overlap between the backstories I've made up for the other stories and this one, this one is still AU so there are still differences.**

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Chapter 2- The Dragon Slayer

"Just cut off its head."

"Excuse me, just do what?"

"The dragon might not even wake up since I'm still in the tower. Just take your swords and cut off the head of the dragon."

"That sounds… Gross. And scary."

"I'm sure it will be."

"That really makes me feel better."

"The only thing I can do to help you is stay in this tower until the dragon is dead. But you can do this, woman up!" Wasabi grunted and drew his swords, glancing between them and weighing them in his hands.

"Wasabi, have you ever fought anything before?"

"Uh, mostly people. Almost exclusively people. And bugs. Sometimes really big bugs."

"I have a lot of questions for later, but for now, just try to be really quiet, don't wake the dragon up, and trust your gut."

"I tend to overthink my gut decisions."

"Okay, then trust my gut. As long as you're quiet and I'm still in the tower the dragon won't wake up." Wasabi sized up the dragon, with its sharp teeth and claws, enormous wings, and puffs of smoke curling out of it's snoring snout.

He chose his sword and gestured with it for a bit, mimicking the action of taking off a head. Leiko didn't have the heart to tell him that it would probably be more like several sawing motions instead of the one swing he was practicing. She didn't want to make him more on edge, so she just watched from the window. He glanced at the dragon once more, and then glanced up at the tower window. For some reason, having an audience was almost as terrifying as what he was about to do. He prayed to the harvest and commerce gods that had apparently served him in his previous endeavors. He didn't think they had anything to offer him now, but he didn't have anyone else to pray to and frankly he was stalling. But he ran out of gods pretty quickly. So then he just had to do it.

Wasabi was still completely terrified as he crept up to the monster, trying not to alert it to his presence. He glanced up once more at the waiting Princess Leiko, and then he swung down with a horrified sense of finality. One of them was about to die. Until the second the very sharp sword began to slice through the dragon's neck Wasabi couldn't help thinking that he was the martyr. And then the sword hit the beast and the dragon was sliced like butter. Blood and brains and the appearance of fire oozed out of the winged beast, which seemed to shudder a bit before succumbing to death. Wasabi shuddered too, jumping away from the pool of blood and guts. What a straight-up nightmare.

"Ew ew ew ew ew!" He couldn't look away though. It was a disturbing and disgusting fascination. His first monster it was satisfying, in a super gross way.

"Impressive," Leiko said, and he turned around, jumping and letting out a startled almost scream.

"How did you get down from there?!"

"I jumped."

"You jumped?!" He forgot himself and grabbed her by the shoulders, checking for any obvious injuries.

"I'm a quick heal, thank goodness." He was still panicking from the idea of flinging oneself out a window, possibly more panicked than he had been while he'd been cutting off the dragon's head.

"You should let go of me," Leiko reminded, not asking. He might have killed this dragon, but his head would be the one to roll if he tried to yank her around. He stepped away and then reached in his bag.

"I got you a change of clothes because we'll have to go through a few towns where people might recognize you."

"Thank you." She took the clothes, standard peasant clothing, not as pretty as the dress she was wearing but far newer and less ragged. She kept her clothes clean as best she could, but they were still old gowns. She pulled on the pants under her skirt and then began to shimmy out of the dress right in front of him. His face reddened and he turned around, blocking her body from view with his larger frame in case there was anyone else around who might see her. When she was done she looked herself over and then stepped in front of the nervous knight.

"You look good." He said, sizing her up like he'd sized up the dragon.

"Thank you?"

"But people might still recognize your face." Okay, so it wasn't a compliment, it was a critique. He took off his cloak and offered it to her.

"Thank you." She had to remind herself that he was literally getting paid to do this, like everyone else who had ever shown any sort of empathy towards her. At least he'd had the courage to slay the dragon. Everyone else had either been too cowardly to fight back or too selfish to bite the hand that fed them. No matter. She was out of the castle and out of the tower and there was no stopping her.

There might be some stopping her. He'd saved her life, so technically, she was in debt to him. She wanted to pay him off quick and duck out of her debt, but she still had to get out of the kingdom in one piece. The villagers would tear her apart if they ever recognized her. So it was best if she stuck by Wasabi until she was out of the kingdom. She wore her satchel close to her side because his payment was inside. She was absolutely sure her tiara could outbid Prince Frederick, whoever he was.

"So, Wasabi, if I'm going to be traveling with you, I'll need to know more about what led you to become a knight, and what kind of person you are. You said you've fought people before, maybe start with that?" She was cautious around someone who was a fighter. Her father had a temper, she wasn't just going to trust someone who might be the exact same.

Wasabi looked embarrassed.

"Just muggers, mostly, and parts of my family."

"Parts of your family?"

"I have brothers. Older, younger, either way, they weren't super happy when I left with the family's money." Leiko held her bag closer.

"So you're a thief?"

"No, I didn't take anything from them, they just thought they deserved all the money I earned from growing, making, and selling food. I took my money, made some expensive seeming investments and was about to leave when those entitled monsters jumped me and tried to take what was rightfully mine. And no one messes with my stuff." Having seen him slay the dragon, she had no doubt about that. As long as she stayed on his good side, there should be no problems. Nonetheless, she was still cautious. Trusting people was the hardest thing she'd ever had to do.

"I understand having that kind of family," Leiko said, feeling a little bit angry for the both of them. Corruption didn't breed corruption, they hadn't deserved the lives they'd been born into. But Leiko didn't like to dwell on that. She didn't like to spend her life feeling mad about things that had already happened. Things might not get better but she didn't have to let the past fully control her. If she was stuck in the past she couldn't adequately face the future. And right now she needed to be as ready to face the future as she could be.

"I think we turned out okay."

"You don't know me yet."

"You don't seem like a monster, your highness."

"Neither do you, but I've trusted the wrong people before."

"So you don't trust me?"

"We all have our fears, merchant."

"I'm a knight now, Princess." She spun in her manly and plain outfit.

"I'm a peasant now, knight." They walked for a little while longer, nearing the village most responsible for her entrapment.

"The village might be harder to face than the dragon," Wasabi admitted as they stood on a hill looking over.

"It could be."

"Because of our families we're both wanted criminals there," he warned.

"Are you sure you don't want the cloak?" She asked.

"I'm sure you need it more. I can defend myself."

"So can I," she reminded.

"Right. But I don't want to, I don't want to defend myself against them. I don't want to have to fight them. I grew up in this village. I'm just tired of fighting the people who were supposed to care about me." She stood next to him, looking over the village.

"Yeah, I'm tired too. We can continue in the morning."


	3. The Bounty

**I told myself I'd update all of my chaptered BH6 stories so gosh darn it, I'm going to do it. I'm so sorry that I haven't updated Heroes' Journey in forever. Sometimes I have to remind myself that there are stories left to update from 2015... I'm not doing so great, haha. Anyways, I hope you enjoy! I'm really trying to get better at updating things. I probably shouldn't start so many projects but I just checked and I'm not planning on stopping in 2020, haha. **

**Recently I read a story called sadnesses by arsenous elation. It's short and sweet and I recommend giving it some love!**

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Wasabi was up earlier than Leiko. It was a habit he supposed, he was an early riser, he'd had to be when he was in sales. That seemed like forever ago, although it had been only a month or so, things were moving so fast. It was exciting and nerve-wracking all at once. He was exhilarated and terrified. He'd cut off the head of a dragon! Without really thinking about it, he prayed to the harvest and commerce gods that he'd never fully believed in, and then he took inventory of all they had on them. Princess Leiko's bag lay next to her, and he opened it, curious at what the Princess had seen fit to bring. There was a handwritten journal he dared not read, and wrapped in a disgusting dusting rag, a glittery tiara.

"What do you think you're doing?" Princess Leiko snapped, grabbing the bag back from him.

"Sorry, it wasn't my place…"

"Well, now you know my price. Get me out of the kingdom, forget about Prince Frederick, and the crown is yours." Wasabi was startled by the proposition. It was tempting, that tiara had to be worth more than he'd ever made in his entire life and was much more of an immediate payout than what Prince Frederick had offered. But an immediate payout didn't make him an immediate sellout.

"I'm so sorry, Princess Leiko. I gave my word to Prince Frederick, and if I want to be a good knight my word must also be good."

"So your word has always been good?" Leiko accused, using anger to mask her fear as this plan crumbled in front of her. She wasn't supposed to be afraid, she'd always been fearless, but she felt like she was headed towards another tower that would trap her, metaphorically or otherwise. She didn't want anyone else yanking her around.

"Of course not, Princess. No one has ever been perfect." Leiko sighed.

"I'm sorry. I never wanted to be traded goods, but I understand that I owe you my cooperation. I will bring my grievances to Prince Frederick directly."

"Thank you." Usually, people didn't cooperate with him so this was a nice, though unexpected, change of pace. With that settled between them, they began moving forward, into the town Wasabi had formerly called home.

It wasn't long before they saw the wanted pictures.

"Oh, great," Wasabi mentioned, looking at the familiar etching of his own agreeable features.

"Well, we knew that it might be like this. Let's just go as quickly as we're able. We can get supplies in the next town over." Now she was calling the shots.

"There's a bounty on my head," Wasabi mumbled dejectedly. He hadn't moved from his spot.

"Yes, and someone might come to collect if we don't keep going," she urged, not quite sympathetic out of fear of getting caught. Of getting trapped. Of getting yanked. Wasn't he afraid of the same thing? They needed to keep moving!

"They see me as an object," Wasabi said mournfully.

"Listen, Wasabi, we're equaled in tragic families, that's why we need each other right now, and that's why we have to keep moving. Because if we don't keep moving we are never going to escape our families and we are never ever going to live the lives we deserve to live. You understand me?" Wasabi looked her in the eye, nodding a little bit.

"Good, let's keep going. The faster we get out of here, the sooner you'll be safe. The sooner we'll both be safe."

"Good plan," he agreed with a small nod.

Though Wasabi was attempting to keep a low profile, he couldn't help remarking on the features of the town.

"Over there is the marketplace where I used to sell my wares. And if you keep going past the marketplace you'll see the house I grew up in." He sounded sad as he headed in the other direction. Like he wanted to go home but he knew that he could never return again.

"You don't need them," Leiko said encouragingly.

"They're still my family."

"No, they lost that privilege when they tried to attach a number to your name. They don't get to decide your worth. They don't get to sell you out for petty cash. They don't get to decide who you are. You're a knight now, Wasabi. You're a hero now. You've already saved me and yourself. You can save yourself. You don't have to go back to them. Let's keep moving."

"You're right. I just don't want to believe that they're that horrible. Even though I endured it for years."

"You can find a real family now. A good family." Leiko said. He nodded.

"That's the plan. I'd say that I already have a good start," he looked at her. She's surprised for a bit, but not for long.

"I suppose I'm also in the market for a family. So let's leave the past behind." They weaved their way through the town, talking quietly about their future plans with a new understanding of each other.

"We'll be out of town soon, there's a path through the woods that will keep us from having to encounter people long enough for us to put a safe distance between me and my bounty hunters. I think we can do it, I think we can slip off unnoticed," Wasabi was babbling now, hopeful. Leiko nodded but stayed quiet.

"Think again," a voice came from the shadows before a net was cast over them both.

"Stop! I can pay more than the bounty!" Leiko shouted as they were dragged away. The person dragging them stopped after a while, seemingly unswayed by her offer.

"I'm not in it for the bounty." She saw a youngish guy with an eery smile, their captor no doubt, who raised a finger to point towards a taller figure cloaked in mystery.

"What do you want with us?" Leiko asked as Wasabi reached for his sword. Then the figure moved closer and Leiko noticed his hand drop, no longer reaching for his blade. Something was going on here...

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**Cliffhanger! Seems like we're about to meet some new enemies... Or perhaps allies, who knows? **


	4. The Prince

**Oh, shoot, another update? Who is she?**

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Chapter 4- The Prince

"I can pay you to let us go," Leiko offered.

"I'm not interested in money," the mysterious figure said.

"That line has literally never worked for you," Wasabi noted, glancing at Leiko. Leiko pressed her lips together in displeasure.

"No, it hasn't… Who are you? What do you want with us?"

"I am the dragon prince," the figure proclaimed, tilting back his head and breathing out a spiral of fire. Leiko noticed Wasabi facepalm and suddenly connected the dots.

"You're Prince Frederick, aren't you?"

"What, no? I'm the dragon prince-"

"Yes, okay. Wasabi?" He sent her a nod.

"Traitor," the prince sulked.

"What are you doing here? Did I do something wrong?" Wasabi seemed a little worried about his job security, and Leiko was on edge.

"Of course not, you've delivered the lovely Princess Leiko to me, I simply came to deliver your payment."

"Am I to assume that you don't want my services any longer? Is that why you're delivering my payment? Do you not want me to enter your kingdom?" Wasabi sounded distressed and heartbroken and Leiko was ready to defend him. Prince Frederick looked surprised and frantically backtracked.

"No no no no no no no you did an amazing job it would be an honor for me to have you in my service. I simply couldn't sit around in the palace when you were out here having an adventure. I found a few traveling companions on my way." He gestured towards the younger boy and a girl that Leiko hadn't noticed with long reddish-orange hair.

"That's Hiro and Honey Lemon."

"It's nice to meet you," Wasabi said with a smile, shaking their hands. Leiko was more cautious and was still eyeing Frederick.

"Princess Leiko, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." He took her hand and moved to kiss it. She let out a sudden, surprised and terrified laugh and pulled away, going to Wasabi's side. She crossed her arms and looked between Hiro and Frederick.

"So your grand plan for the pleasure of making my acquaintance was to have a teenager kidnap me and your employee? Wasabi and I had it covered and that wasn't even a good kidnapping. I would know."

"Uhh…" Prince Frederick clearly had nothing to say about that.

"This was a terrible plan. You unnecessarily traumatized us, you clearly didn't think this through. That was irresponsible." Wasabi put his hand on her shoulder as a comforting gesture, and she didn't pull away.

"I'm sorry, Princess. I clearly didn't leave a great first impression. I understand now why we have to think through our first ideas before we do them. I'm incredibly sorry."

"I don't forgive you."

"Leiko," Wasabi said, sounding stressed.

"What you did was stupid. You haven't proved yourself yet, I don't forgive you yet. I think I could forgive you, however, especially if you don't take out the consequences of your own actions on Wasabi, who hasn't done anything." Prince Frederick looked incredibly concerned.

"I- what- no? I'm not doing anything to Wasabi. His job is secure," the prince sank down into a squatting position, hand in his hair.

"I'm an idiot, oh my goodness, this was not supposed to happen. I'm so sorry for traumatizing you two. It was just supposed to be theatrical."

"Woman up," Leiko said, offering him a hand. Prince Frederick accepted the help up.

"Thank you... May I get a second chance at a first impression?"

"You've already made your first impression. You have a second chance at making that impression a little better. You clearly regret your theatrics, so that's a good start."

"Thank you, Princess Leiko. I think we could still salvage this relationship."

"It's just Leiko, and we're going to have to talk about your expectations about a relationship. I'm indebted to you for the rescue, we should discuss those terms."

"No terms, no debt."

"If you were expecting to court me, I consider that to be the terms of payment."

"Well, uh…"

"I assumed that that was your intention with hiring someone to rescue me. If I'm wrong, I understand and apologize for assuming."

"You were kind of right… So um…"

"I don't want that," Leiko blurted, turning away in embarrassment. This was a nightmare. Wasabi's hand had been on her shoulder for the whole conversation and only now she pulled away, feeling claustrophobic and trapped.

"Because I act before I think?" Prince Frederick guessed.

"Everyone leaps before they look now and then. It's not that… I was imprisoned in a tower for years. I was trapped in the tower and before that, I was trapped in the palace to endure my father's abuse. I don't want to be trapped again."

"I can assure you that there's no trap."

"Maybe not to you, but it just doesn't feel right to agree to a courtship so quickly after I was freed. The thought of another palate where I'm someone else's pawn is chilling. Even if you don't see it that way. Even if I'm wrong, I need the time and distance to realize it. Please."

"Then there will be no courtship unless in time we both decide otherwise. I've made a mess of things and that was never my intention. However, I think that you should travel with us to my kingdom. It's not safe for you here where you're recognizable. After that what you do is up to you, although I hope that we can remain friends."

"We're not friends yet," Leiko said with a grateful smile, "but you're making great strides towards friendship."

"Good. That's all I can ask."

"Thank you, Prince Frederick."

"Just Fred is fine, Leiko." Fred turned towards Honey Lemon and Hiro, and Leiko turned towards Wasabi.

"It's time to move out," Fred told his friends.

"Is everything okay?" Wasabi asked.

"I think it will be. Are you okay?"

"Sure, I will be. I didn't realize how afraid you were, er, are. I'm sorry I wasn't more considerate."

"I think that if we keep moving, I'll be able to get away from my fear."

"That's my hope too. Let's find out together."

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**So we met Fred! He's a bit of a mess, but he's trying. We'll meet Hiro and Honey Lemon more and find out the explanation for Fred's powers as well as how a teenager lugged two grown people around in a net. **

**I hope you guys like what I'm doing with Leiko right now. I'm not sure how much romance is going to make it into the story. **


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